We have never been one to shy away from ambitious projects. As a community invested charity we make a plan and we run with it. When we see a need, we are driven to help. Challenges? Hundreds! Doubters? Many. But when we truly believe in something, we move mountains to make things happen. We have always been intensely community focused but in these complex and challenging times, with mental ill health and unemployment both at an all-time high, we are striving to do more than ever.
The development of our 1.6 acre fresh food growing project, Goodlives, has taken us on quite the journey. Our expertise lies in helping people. Providing support and changing lives. When it comes to infrastructure and construction management, let’s just say its not our forte!
Let me share with you about how chance introduction with DSD Construction’s Russ Henderson turned into the most exciting and humbling experience that literally left us open mouthed with gratitude.
The Goodlives Project is now in it’s third phase of development. This is where the site expansion really starts to flourish and the magic of our vision really comes to fruition. With water and electricity now connected at the site, and extensive growing areas including 4 large polytunnels, we’ve more than successfully developed the growing areas for our learners and volunteers to learn horticulture skills and be able to nurture and grow their own food. But the next, very important phase, is to create a space to teach them how to cook and preserve their harvests. As ambitious as ever, we planned to create a large courtyard area with a modular kitchen and indoor social spaces for our learners and volunteers.
So, we reached out to DSD Construction and asked them to provide some advice and guidance on levelling out the ground and laying the courtyard foundations. As a leading nationwide provider of surfacing and civil engineering services who are known for their quality and value, DSD Construction are a highly trusted name that we felt confident in approaching. When Russ Henderson arrived to take a look, the meeting turned out to be so much more than we could have hoped for or ever expected. Inspired by our project and our mission to support the local community, Russ wanted to help. Not only did he provide guidance on what we would need to do, he actually went on to arrange the full completion of works free of charge. From planning to digging out the ground and laying the stone work – Russ handled it all. Furthermore his team backfilled the trench that had been created for the water supply on site and he has even sourced a septic tank for us. We’d also like to offer our sincere thanks to Sunbelt Rentals in Whitehaven for kindly providing machinery for the ground work and also Breedon Quarry for the donation of stone.
We have been truly blown away by Russ’s generosity and his interest in our projects, which has resulted in us welcoming Russ onto our Board of Trustees.
Managing Director, Karen Jones said “We value Russ’s contribution immensely and are really excited to have him on the board. His generosity of time, labour and equipment will have an immeasurable impact on the support that we can provide and the difference that we can make to the people in our local community.”
Thank you to all at DSD Construction for truly laying the foundations for a very bright future for our learners.
So what’s next? Well if like me, you love nothing more than some good old toast and jam with a hot cup of tea, then you’re in for a treat! There will be a fine selection of preservatives available to buy in the shops very soon! I will definitely be stocking up on a few to add to my Christmas hampers this year – a great way to shop local as well as support the project and the learners.
